Students must show their mettle

What a great letter by Grant Piper — “A better use of students’ time” — on Dec. 12. I am aware of the pressure put on Japanese students throughout their school years and of the challenge they face of just getting into a university.

I was not aware that graduation from university is nearly guaranteed — as long as they show up and go with the flow — and that they participate in a job hunt a year before actual graduation.

I don’t get it either; I admire Piper’s point of view.

I’m from North America, too (United States) — where, in our higher learning years, we must really step up our study efforts and deliver. We aren’t robots off an assembly line. We can debate and express ourselves clearly without any fear of the social norm. We try to be true thinkers, discoverers and innovators setting the tone.

In North America, we must prove ourselves among our peers, ourselves and professors, first! Not to a potential employer.

When I think of a better use of students’ time, they shouldn’t focus on an annual job hunt just because that’s the routine here. As Piper has stated, “They have not graduated yet.”

What a “misfunction,” indeed. Well, perhaps. Shouldn’t Japanese students realize that a little tact, character and initiative (along with being “book smart”) would take them a long way in their futures as a global citizen?

richard morris

saitama

The opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are the writer’s own and do not necessarily reflect the policies of The Japan Times.